The Vietnam Veterans Federation says it is shocked by three studies released today that examine the health of veterans.

Two of the studies compared Vietnam veterans to the general population and show that veterans have a lower mortality rate and a higher cancer rate.

But Graham Walker from Vietnam Veterans Federation says the most alarming results come from a third study, which shows veterans who served in Vietnam have a much higher mortality rate than the serviceman who did not.

"We expected there would be increased incidents, or higher rates of disease and mortality and so on, but we didn't think they'd be so high," he said.

"A 23 per cent higher death rate for the national servicemen who fought in Vietnam is alarming and we didn't expect it to be as high as that."

'Allay some concerns'

Veterans Affairs Minister Bruce Billson released the study today showing that Vietnam veterans have a 15 per cent higher rate of cancer but lower mortality rate.

The study is the latest in a series by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Institute of Health and Welfare.

It found that former members of the Navy have suffered a higher rate of cancer than those who served in the Army and Air Force.

"However the study didn't find an association between the higher cancer incidence of Navy veterans and the ship on which they served and the amount of time they spent in Vietnam waters. This should allay some of the concerns about adverse dioxin exposure from consumption of potable water," he said.

Follow-up

The Federal Opposition has demanded to know what the Government will do about the results of the studies.

Labor MP and Vietnam veteran Graham Edwards says the findings are not surprising.

"I just don't want the Government to drop this report and to say, 'Well, everything's fine, there's no worries', and walk away from it," he said.

"I think the Government has a responsibility to face up to some of the negatives in this report and, with the veteran community, work through those negatives and find out how best they can be addressed."

Mr Billson says he was particularly concerned at the level of prostate cancer.

"The data's there but the causal evidence isn't able to be picked out. The issue though of the benefits of early screening and early treatment are profoundly captured in this research, and particularly around prostate cancer," he said.

"I'm just seeing what opportunities there may be to further complement work that we're doing in that area."

Labor's veterans affairs spokesman Alan Griffin has welcomed the study but says it has taken too long to release the results.